F-14 Questions Answered - Ask Away
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Hi Astro14.
You guys actually got paid to do this
I notice it is a 'hands off' take off. Looking at that vid from 1:06 i noticed the tail surfaces moving. Is this to give lift? Also if the pilot is hands off does the aircraft computer take care of the initial launch?
Thanks
Tikka.
You guys actually got paid to do this
I notice it is a 'hands off' take off. Looking at that vid from 1:06 i noticed the tail surfaces moving. Is this to give lift? Also if the pilot is hands off does the aircraft computer take care of the initial launch?
Thanks
Tikka.
Hi Astro14.
You guys actually got paid to do this
I notice it is a 'hands off' take off. Looking at that vid from 1:06 i noticed the tail surfaces moving. Is this to give lift? Also if the pilot is hands off does the aircraft computer take care of the initial launch?
Thanks
Tikka.
I honestly couldn't imaging doing that.
I would love to be in the back seat. I think Tom Cruise did some of these filming Top Gun 2.
One of my friends was some kind of Flight controller on an aircraft Carrier during the Vietnam war and got a ride on an A4 he loved it and my neighbor an A4 pilot during the same time era said is was the best thing on Earth and I am sure Astro14 knows the words of the description but I will get banned if I post the description. We make heros out of race car drivers but the pilots are so much "mo betta".
The rudders toe-in to help control the nose during slow speed, such as take off and landing, it doesn’t create lift. The FCS controls all of the surfaces and controls that stuff automatically. In newer aircraft the pilot does not directly control anything, they indicate their intention and the aircraft configures itself to do it.
Yeah...we got paid to do that...and I loved it.
So, to answer what’s going on in the video you see, let’s first talk about the cat shot. EMALS is the new technology, electromagnetic induction to provide the force to accelerate an airplane from dead stop to about 170 knots in a space just under 100 meters. Steam is the old, and still prevalent, technology.
The catapult (as opposed to ski jumps, or VTOL) allows the use of heavier and higher performance airplanes. It also requires less free flight deck space than a ski jump and more launch capability in a given window.
The catapults as installed on a USN carrier accelerate the airplane to flying speed by connecting a shuttle (which is a fitting connected to the motive force, steam tubes, induction motor, etc. below the deck) to the airplane. On very old airplanes like the F-4 and F-8, a cable known as a bridle was used. Current airplanes all have a launch bar, that is a steel bar, connected to the nose gear, that engages the shuttle. The launch bar is normally retracted.
When the launch bar is hooked into the shuttle, all slack has to be removed, or the shock load from the cat firing would break the bar and the airplane*. So, a second fitting is used, called a “hold back” and the holdback does just that: hold the airplane back against full engine power. This allows the shuttle to securely engage the launch bar, and the engines to be placed at full power, so that everything is ready when the cat is fired.
The catapult officer does a set of calculations based on aircraft type, weight, wind, temperature, and available steam/energy. The impulse is calculated to provide enough energy to get that airplane launched with that set of conditions. On a windy day, say, when the carrier is making 25-30 knots of wind, and when the airplane is light, say, in the case of a Tomcat at 54,000 lbs, the cat shot is sweet, about 2G acceleration (makes a Tesla in ludicrous mode look slow).
But with light wind, hot day (air density lower, so more speed is needed) and a heavy airplane, say, a 69,000# Tomcat loaded for combat, the cat shot can be brutal. Over 3G acceleration (perhaps more than 4G, as I did some math...) to achieve that flying speed in under two seconds. It's also brutal because the nose strut extends at the end of the stroke and there is a big change in the rate of acceleration (third derivative of position with respect to time, known as "jerk"). Makes for quite a jolt on a heavy shot.
The basic sequence (no arming of weapons) -
The airplane is guided into the catapult by the yellow shirt (taxi director). Yep, they’re so good that the airplane is within the 1/2” needed to be aligned with the shuttle. The airplane unfolds/spreads wings and the blast deflector is raised (a big shield behind the airplane to protect everyone/thing from the jet exhaust). The launch bar is lowered and the airplane taxied into the shuttle. The holdback is connected, shuttle engaged and the signal is given to “take tension” - where slight forward pressure is applied to the shuttle. When in tension, the pilot runs the engines up to full power, AB if needed, and moves the flight controls through their full range, checking instruments and controls. Safety observers from that squadron observe the controls, and check for leaks/problems, they give a thumbs up. When the pilot is satisfied with the control feel, instruments and airplane, they salute the cat officer. Cat officer checks the troubleshooters, forward of the track, and fires the cat.
Airplane goes zero to 170 in two seconds. Awesome.
* The load on the airplane is incredible. The launch bar is about the size of my forearm. In the case of the F-14, the nose strut is compressed (we called it kneeling) for launch and over 200,000 lbs of load goes through that bar into the airframe to accelerate the jet.
It doesn’t always work out. A friend of mine, LCDR Chris “Basher” Blaschum, had the nose strut come apart during a cat shot many years ago. Corrosion internal to the strut weakened its ability to handle that load and it failed. He tried to save the airplane by going into AB and flying it, but there wasn’t enough speed or time. The RIO ejected, and made it. Basher didn’t.
RIP Basher, my friend, until Valhalla.
So, to answer what’s going on in the video you see, let’s first talk about the cat shot. EMALS is the new technology, electromagnetic induction to provide the force to accelerate an airplane from dead stop to about 170 knots in a space just under 100 meters. Steam is the old, and still prevalent, technology.
The catapult (as opposed to ski jumps, or VTOL) allows the use of heavier and higher performance airplanes. It also requires less free flight deck space than a ski jump and more launch capability in a given window.
The catapults as installed on a USN carrier accelerate the airplane to flying speed by connecting a shuttle (which is a fitting connected to the motive force, steam tubes, induction motor, etc. below the deck) to the airplane. On very old airplanes like the F-4 and F-8, a cable known as a bridle was used. Current airplanes all have a launch bar, that is a steel bar, connected to the nose gear, that engages the shuttle. The launch bar is normally retracted.
When the launch bar is hooked into the shuttle, all slack has to be removed, or the shock load from the cat firing would break the bar and the airplane*. So, a second fitting is used, called a “hold back” and the holdback does just that: hold the airplane back against full engine power. This allows the shuttle to securely engage the launch bar, and the engines to be placed at full power, so that everything is ready when the cat is fired.
The catapult officer does a set of calculations based on aircraft type, weight, wind, temperature, and available steam/energy. The impulse is calculated to provide enough energy to get that airplane launched with that set of conditions. On a windy day, say, when the carrier is making 25-30 knots of wind, and when the airplane is light, say, in the case of a Tomcat at 54,000 lbs, the cat shot is sweet, about 2G acceleration (makes a Tesla in ludicrous mode look slow).
But with light wind, hot day (air density lower, so more speed is needed) and a heavy airplane, say, a 69,000# Tomcat loaded for combat, the cat shot can be brutal. Over 3G acceleration (perhaps more than 4G, as I did some math...) to achieve that flying speed in under two seconds. It's also brutal because the nose strut extends at the end of the stroke and there is a big change in the rate of acceleration (third derivative of position with respect to time, known as "jerk"). Makes for quite a jolt on a heavy shot.
The basic sequence (no arming of weapons) -
The airplane is guided into the catapult by the yellow shirt (taxi director). Yep, they’re so good that the airplane is within the 1/2” needed to be aligned with the shuttle. The airplane unfolds/spreads wings and the blast deflector is raised (a big shield behind the airplane to protect everyone/thing from the jet exhaust). The launch bar is lowered and the airplane taxied into the shuttle. The holdback is connected, shuttle engaged and the signal is given to “take tension” - where slight forward pressure is applied to the shuttle. When in tension, the pilot runs the engines up to full power, AB if needed, and moves the flight controls through their full range, checking instruments and controls. Safety observers from that squadron observe the controls, and check for leaks/problems, they give a thumbs up. When the pilot is satisfied with the control feel, instruments and airplane, they salute the cat officer. Cat officer checks the troubleshooters, forward of the track, and fires the cat.
Airplane goes zero to 170 in two seconds. Awesome.
* The load on the airplane is incredible. The launch bar is about the size of my forearm. In the case of the F-14, the nose strut is compressed (we called it kneeling) for launch and over 200,000 lbs of load goes through that bar into the airframe to accelerate the jet.
It doesn’t always work out. A friend of mine, LCDR Chris “Basher” Blaschum, had the nose strut come apart during a cat shot many years ago. Corrosion internal to the strut weakened its ability to handle that load and it failed. He tried to save the airplane by going into AB and flying it, but there wasn’t enough speed or time. The RIO ejected, and made it. Basher didn’t.
RIP Basher, my friend, until Valhalla.
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With the context of the cat shot defined, let’s talk about how airplanes themselves handle from a pilot perspective.
Airplanes with conventional flight controls, like the F-14 (or E-2), use pitch trim prior to launch to configure the airplane. Pitch trim is determined by weight, center of gravity (CG) and speed or AB use.
In those airplanes, pitch trim is set as the wings are spread/unfolded, and during the stroke, the pilot has their hands on the flight controls. As the airplane accelerates, the flight controls naturally move to the rear under that acceleration, but as soon as the airplane is flying, and the acceleration stops, the flight controls return to trim and the pilot establishes both climb and a clearing turn (for day launch, a turn away from the centerline of the carrier to maintain lateral separation during high intensity launches).
But the F/A-18 flight control system is fundamentally different. It’s known as CAS (Computer aided stability). Here’s how it works: Two flight control computers (FCCs receive inputs from the pilot via conventional stick/rudder. Depending on airspeed, load, and AOA, they analyze pilot input and move the appropriate control surface to make the airplane do what the pilot is directing. The control surfaces for roll, for example, are generally aileron and differential horizontal tail. However, at lower airspeed, or high AOA, the rudder will augment roll. At very high airspeed, the forward slats on the wing will augment roll. The FCCs choose.
The FCCs take pilot input and make the airplane move. But they are using aircraft body rate as the gauge. Pitch, roll, yaw are measured. The FCC are looking at input and providing appropriate pitch, roll, and yaw rate, so when there is no pilot input, the FCCs will zero the body rates - no pitch, no roll, no yaw. It’s great. Easy to fly. No trim (if you’re a pilot, you’re acutely aware of the importance of trim, but there is no trim in the F/A-18 until you lower the landing gear).
However, on the cat shot, as the airspeed is rapidly changing, and when the body rates are a function of catapult mechanism, adding pilot input to the FCCs causes them to lag behind what is happening. You get unintended flight control movement.
So, for a cat shot, after the controls are checked, the pilot puts their right hand on the cat launch grip, a handle on the canopy frame, and lets the FCCs establish the initial climb. Yes, rudder toe in is used to increase pitch authority, because at high gross weight, with turbulent airflow coming off the flaps impinging on the horizontal tails, decreasing their effectiveness, the FCCs call up additional surfaces to yield the desired pitch.
In all airplanes, the pilot’s hand is on the throttles, and either locked out by muscle, or held forward with the aid of a “cat grip”, a retractable handle in front of the throttles, that allows the pilot to hold on to the grip and pin the throttles against the grip.
Airplanes with conventional flight controls, like the F-14 (or E-2), use pitch trim prior to launch to configure the airplane. Pitch trim is determined by weight, center of gravity (CG) and speed or AB use.
In those airplanes, pitch trim is set as the wings are spread/unfolded, and during the stroke, the pilot has their hands on the flight controls. As the airplane accelerates, the flight controls naturally move to the rear under that acceleration, but as soon as the airplane is flying, and the acceleration stops, the flight controls return to trim and the pilot establishes both climb and a clearing turn (for day launch, a turn away from the centerline of the carrier to maintain lateral separation during high intensity launches).
But the F/A-18 flight control system is fundamentally different. It’s known as CAS (Computer aided stability). Here’s how it works: Two flight control computers (FCCs receive inputs from the pilot via conventional stick/rudder. Depending on airspeed, load, and AOA, they analyze pilot input and move the appropriate control surface to make the airplane do what the pilot is directing. The control surfaces for roll, for example, are generally aileron and differential horizontal tail. However, at lower airspeed, or high AOA, the rudder will augment roll. At very high airspeed, the forward slats on the wing will augment roll. The FCCs choose.
The FCCs take pilot input and make the airplane move. But they are using aircraft body rate as the gauge. Pitch, roll, yaw are measured. The FCC are looking at input and providing appropriate pitch, roll, and yaw rate, so when there is no pilot input, the FCCs will zero the body rates - no pitch, no roll, no yaw. It’s great. Easy to fly. No trim (if you’re a pilot, you’re acutely aware of the importance of trim, but there is no trim in the F/A-18 until you lower the landing gear).
However, on the cat shot, as the airspeed is rapidly changing, and when the body rates are a function of catapult mechanism, adding pilot input to the FCCs causes them to lag behind what is happening. You get unintended flight control movement.
So, for a cat shot, after the controls are checked, the pilot puts their right hand on the cat launch grip, a handle on the canopy frame, and lets the FCCs establish the initial climb. Yes, rudder toe in is used to increase pitch authority, because at high gross weight, with turbulent airflow coming off the flaps impinging on the horizontal tails, decreasing their effectiveness, the FCCs call up additional surfaces to yield the desired pitch.
In all airplanes, the pilot’s hand is on the throttles, and either locked out by muscle, or held forward with the aid of a “cat grip”, a retractable handle in front of the throttles, that allows the pilot to hold on to the grip and pin the throttles against the grip.
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Hi Astro14.
You guys actually got paid to do this
I notice it is a 'hands off' take off. Looking at that vid from 1:06 i noticed the tail surfaces moving. Is this to give lift? Also if the pilot is hands off does the aircraft computer take care of the initial launch?
Thanks
Tikka.
One more point, Tikka - when you watch the video, at about time 1:06 did you see the guy with BOTH hands up?
That's a WSO. He's in the back seat. No hands on the flight controls during the control check, no salute (pilot salutes), and, critically, no hand on the throttles during the shot. Super dangerous as the inertia will cause the throttles to come back to idle during the shot unless the pilot is holding them up.
Also, in all of the angles, you see the airplane turn left just a bit after the shot, that's because the airplane was shot from the waist (cat 3 in fact) and during the day, airplanes shot from cats 3 & 4 make a clearing turn to the left to provide a bit of safety/separation from the airplanes shot off the bow, on cats 1 & 2.
Hi Astro14.
An outstanding explanation as always. Thank you.
Of course! The hands off guy at 1:06 is a back seater. I thought he was the pilot and the computer was taking the aircraft from the carrier. Doh!
There was much debate over here during the design stage of the Queen Elizabeth carriers about whether a catapult system was to be used or not. Ultimately the costs involved with the EMAL system led them to use the ski jump and F35B.
From a layman's point of view i think they should have found the extra cash. Too many compromises made.
An outstanding explanation as always. Thank you.
Of course! The hands off guy at 1:06 is a back seater. I thought he was the pilot and the computer was taking the aircraft from the carrier. Doh!
There was much debate over here during the design stage of the Queen Elizabeth carriers about whether a catapult system was to be used or not. Ultimately the costs involved with the EMAL system led them to use the ski jump and F35B.
From a layman's point of view i think they should have found the extra cash. Too many compromises made.
I was actually at war college in Shrivenham (Joint Services Command and Staff College) when the RN was debating the carrier configuration.
Here was the thinking:
The entire F-35 was experiencing delays. So was EMALS. If the RAF (and politicians) sensed weakness on the ability of the RN to get the carrier program operational on time, there was a very real chance it would be cut.
By ditching EMALS you lost the risk of delays in that program. Further, if you went with a ski jump, you could use Harrier GR.9, borrowed from the RAF, to fill the carrier air wing, so you lose the risk of the F-35 program delays. The carrier would be operational on time, with or without EMALS and with or without the F-35.
Ultimately, the F-35B is a lower performance airplane than the F-35C that the RN really wanted, but they wanted to ensure the political survivability of the carrier program, so they made the big change.
JHZR2
Staff member
RIP LCDR.
Would you say the explanation you gave here is what is shown in the opening credits of Top Gun?
You can see them doing various things, Including hauling fuel lines, but some of it is cinching up the front of the plane, raising the blast shields, etc.
From approximately 1:15
Say what anyone might about the movie, that opening footage with the radio chatter and the aircraft activities is some of my favorite footage of any movie ever.
Hi Astro14
Once again thank you for replying.
I see what you mean about the politics and inter service rivalry. Good points.
The RAF are now pushing for F35A instead of the whole order being F35B and 'shared' with the navy. I realise my knowledge is only veneer thin but i really hope the F35 is the aircraft that it professes to be and not a very expensive white elephant.
Do you think fitting the Elizabeth class carriers with steam catapult was a viable option? I am concerned about lack of aircraft types severely limiting future operations. The AEW for example will be fulfilled by Sea King Helicopter. No provision for electronic warfare aircraft other than the F35B own ability. This is fine if the carriers will be working as part of a NATO fleet but history has shown (Falklands) that this is not always the case.
The carriers can't even defend themselves having only CIWS armament.
I hope my Country looked after you on your visits.
Next time you get a few days in London with your airline, try to get up to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford near Cambridge. You will enjoy it.
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It was an awesome opening the day it hit theaters, and it remains awesome.
The radio chatter is pure Hollywood. The entire flight deck choreography is done with hand signals (wands at night), so, in the cockpit, I hear nothing but the engines and ECS (Environmental Control System - which was pretty loud in my airplane).
The sequence of events is chopped up in this film clip, but you do see everything - Taxi directors (yellow shirts), giving signals, airplanes moving, the shuttle moving, steam venting from the cats, the holdback being connected, the shuttle taking tension, the cat officer giving the launch signal, and the cat firing. Even in slo-mo, you can see the jerk when the cat fires; the nose strut compresses even more as hundreds of thousands of pounds of force are applied, overcoming the holdback and starting the stroke.
The running kids hauling fuel lines and air compressor lines also have nothing to do with the launch, those activities were all done pre-launch and start, but, again, Hollywood. Cool footage, without relevance.
I'm not an F-35 fan - it's the Swiss Army knife of airplanes - does everything, none of it well. That said, it's the new NATO standard, and it's stealth. You want to play in future NATO operations, having that airplane will become a requirement for a "seat at the table".
F-35A will out-perform F-35B, which is saddled with the weight and room of the lifting fan. F-35C looks to be the best of the bunch, with larger wing area, so, better turn performance and fuel burn, while carrying more fuel. F-35A has the 9G airframe, while F-35C is limited to 7.5G. I can see why the RAF wants it - relevance and technology. The F-35 has some incredible sensor technology, even if it's an underpowered, jack of all trades airplane.
Steam cats were never an option for the Queen Elizabeth class. The ships have an all-electric architecture. No steam. The USN Ford Class is the same way. Electric power replaced steam, high pressure air, and other means of providing power to systems. Steam is the most efficient way to take heat and turn it into work. When you have a nuclear plant, it's very, very efficient. The steam catapults were remarkably efficient and capable.
However, steam pipes and equipment corrode, and steam equipment requires lots of maintenance. Daily maintenance for the catapults. Lots of it.
Going to an electric architecture saves a lot on maintenance, which saves a lot in manpower. So, you can get by with a smaller crew. So, you save a lot of money. A LOT of money.
Over the 50 year life-cycle of a US CVN, the sailors cost far more than the ship ever did. In fact, the savings in personnel cost of 700 fewer sailors on the Ford vs. a Nimitz-class, saves more money for the Navy than the $14 billion that the ship cost to buy. A fact lost on the press and public, but which is critically important to the Navy.
I had a great time in your country. It was a short course with the Royal Navy Reserve, and among the many highlights, I met his Grace, the Duke of Westminster. Over cocktails, we chatted about foreign policy, and I think he appreciated how direct a young USN fighter pilot can be. I was a LCDR at the time, talking to a Duke, who was also a 2-star in the Territorial Army (a rank achieved, to his credit, by working up through the ranks, beginning as a 2nd Lieutenant) and I think his Grace was used to being surrounded by "yes-men" who deferred to his rank and title. I was appropriately respectful and polite, but told him what I thought, in no uncertain terms.
In 2004, we had a lot to talk about...
Cheers,
Astro
P.S. I am saddened to discover that his Grace passed away a few years back. I didn't know, it's not like I follow British society. I thoroughly enjoyed his company and conversation that evening.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Grosvenor,_6th_Duke_of_Westminster
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When my wife and I visited Duxford a few years ago, we were fortunate enough to see a BF-109 doing a few high speed passes over the field before landing, and later, a Spitfire take off.
Among the many exhibits, including the only TSR-2 left in existence, was the American Air Museum, with a great tribute to the 70,000+ Americans who lost their lives flying from Great Britain's airfields during World War II. As you walk up the long, curved ramp to the museum, you pass by dozens of etched glass panels with B-17s and other aircraft. Each airplane lost in combat was represented by a tiny etched airplane in those panels. There were thousands of airplanes...
That night, we had dinner in town (Cambridge, not Duxford) at a Pub called the Eagle. A favorite of WWII fighter and bomber crews, it had graffiti in the ceilings placed by those crews, and some really terrific memorabilia all around.
Among the many exhibits, including the only TSR-2 left in existence, was the American Air Museum, with a great tribute to the 70,000+ Americans who lost their lives flying from Great Britain's airfields during World War II. As you walk up the long, curved ramp to the museum, you pass by dozens of etched glass panels with B-17s and other aircraft. Each airplane lost in combat was represented by a tiny etched airplane in those panels. There were thousands of airplanes...
That night, we had dinner in town (Cambridge, not Duxford) at a Pub called the Eagle. A favorite of WWII fighter and bomber crews, it had graffiti in the ceilings placed by those crews, and some really terrific memorabilia all around.
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Astro, the answer to this is probably in this thread, but, without searching through it, did you train on the T-45 at all, or did that come into service after you‘d already gotten your F-14 wings?
(I wondered as I watched a Goshawk take off from BNA just now.)
(I wondered as I watched a Goshawk take off from BNA just now.)
Thanks... I enjoyed scanning through the Wiki entries for those aircraft.
Im no pilot but love playing Ace Combat on the PlayStation VR.
